Roca Baltimore: Cognitive Based Community Violence Intervention

One of the most violent cities in our nation, in 2021, the City of Baltimore experienced 332 homicides and 731 nonfatal shootings.  Unfortunately, these high rates of shootings have remained stable for close to a decade. Once thought to be gang and/or neighborhood-based, today gun violence in Baltimore occurs is highly interpersonal, occurs in neighborhoods across the city, and the young people engaged in violence now move through neighborhoods with ease often engaging in violence across multiple communities.

Through this grant, Roca will implement and expand a combination of planning, community partnership and services designed to increase the number of people receiving violence intervention and response services in Baltimore and its surrounding communities creating sustainable behavior change in those we serve and reducing community violence. The project is composed of four key elements, each described below:

The project will restructure and expand its existing Baltimore Young Adult Violence Planning Committee and create a similar committee in each community served.  These committees will use local data to produce a needs assessment for the community and a violence reduction plan and review the plan annually.  These committees will also provide support to the project during its implementation and/or expansion phases, including providing support to obtain necessary data to administer the After Shooting Protocol in each community.

Roca will expand the use of our After Shooting Protocol a data-driven outreach approach that in pilots has proven exceptionally impactful in engaging young people, throughout Baltimore and in each of our expansion communities. By using this protocol, all non-fatal shootings will be reviewed daily and each identified young person will receive a door knock within 24-48 hours to connect them to services.

The expansion of Roca’s intervention and response services to those at highest risk for being a victim or perpetrator of violence, using Roca’s nationally acclaimed Intervention Model, serving more than 850 of the area’s highest risk young men over the grant period.  Of those targeted, 80% of young people targeted will be engaged in services and 80% of young people served 18 months or longer will: demonstrate improved emotional regulation and improved ability to manage behavioral health issues (i.e. depression, PTSD, trauma); will have no new incarcerations; obtain and retain unsubsidized employment.